Pure as Mud
by ArachneSapphire
Summary: An unfortunate "accident" at a Quidditch game causes Hermione to get hurt. When Malfoy saves her, will Hermione wish she hadn't woken up, or will an unlikely friendship bloom? Not HBP compliant.
1. A NearDeath Experience

* * *

Hermione slightly grimaced as she looked at the score of the Quidditch game that she was watching in a stand with some of the other Gryffindors; she was telling Neville the game's progress because he had been too nervous to continue watching the game. Harry Potter was the Seeker for Gryffindor, and Draco Malfoy was still Seeker for Slytherin. The game's progress was very slow because the two teams were tied in score. Both Harry and Malfoy were zooming around the pitch on their brooms, both waiting for a glimpse of the Golden Snitch that would give them the120 points that would win the game for their team.

Finally, Harry spotted the small winged ball right beside Malfoy's ear. He knew that if he made any quick movements, the blond headed boy would notice the Snitch near him and grab it, which would unfortunately let Malfoy's team win. Harry slowly glided next to Malfoy and hoped that the Snitch wouldn't fly away.

"So, Potter, are you still enjoying the game? Why don't you just quit? You know you're going to lose," the pale Seeker boasted.

Harry raised his hand looking as if he went to slap Malfoy, and the Snitch that was fluttering around the Slytherin's head was caught in the boy's grasp. Malfoy's jaw dropped; he couldn't believe what had just happened. He had been bragging about how good he was and in the process of bragging, he was too busy trying to anger his opponent that he had lost sight of the Snitch and the game!

Back in the box Hermione was in, terrified Neville had peered behind his hands and asked Hermione, "What's going on, why's everyone screaming?"

"Harry Potter has caught the Golden Snitch and won the game, leaving Draco Malfoy looking as if he just realized that he was a Seeker! Indeed, a marvelous time for the player to realize he actually was a player! A shocking discovery to make, yes, oh how terribly shocking!" Hermione announced to Neville screaming over the crowds crying out for their favorite Seeker. As her friends laughed over her dry sense of humor, she looked down upon Harry landing in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch holding the fluttering, golden ball above his head. Little did she knew Malfoy heard her and was boiling with fury.

"Hermione, we're leaving, alright?" Parvati informed her. When Hermione turned to acknowledge she heard them and wanted to stay to meet up with Harry, she watched as one-by-one they left her alone in the box.

She glanced down at Harry and then up as she heard an odd sound as well as seeing a flash of black. She saw a rouge-looking Bludger head straight right for her. She reached down to grab her wand as fast as she could, but she was not fast enough. For the first time, she realized, magic couldn't help her.

A sickening crack resounded around the stadium as the Bludger disconnected the girl's shoulder. Harry looked up at the stand that held the smartest of all of his friends. Horrified, he watched as she was forced back by the Bludger and accidentally fell over the side of the tall box. Because of the painful impact, Hermione was knocked unconscious. Harry knew that he wouldn't be able to catch her in time. He couldn't bear to look but had to as he pulled out his wand to slow her fall. However, he noticed that he wouldn't have to.

Malfoy had at first been smugly watching as the Bludger that he had sent hurtling through the air toward Hermione had indeed hit her shoulder. He knew that it would probably break something, but he didn't know that it would make her pass out or even fall out of the box. He had sat there on his broom as she had been knocked backwards and fell out of the stands to an almost certainly painful injury. Malfoy knew that he wouldn't be able to live with the fact that this girl would be hurt because she had said something harsh about his "stupidity." Though she had mocked him at some points during their encounters, she never really made fun of his intelligence. It had made him exceptionally mad at all of the reminders that she was, indeed, smarter than he.

He zoomed to where she was falling. He didn't know if he would be able to make it in time to save her. Diving for her, he grabbed Hermione's robes and felt the broom buck from the new sudden weight that was put on it. Draco struggled to hold on to the dead weight that was slipping out of his hand. He only hoped that he would be able to keep his hold on her long enough to stop her from crashing painfully to the ground.

He tried to land softly, but he knew that if he didn't move quickly, all his efforts would have been in vain'_God, Granger! What have you been eating lately!_'he thought angrily. If it wasn't enough that he had to save this Muggle-born, she had to weigh more than she had looked from a distance and in her school robes which added even more weight, which heated his already inflamed anger. He touched the ground harder than he intended to. It was a small miracle that he hadn't broken his broom from her dead weight, let alone care about if he hurt her shoulder even more by attempting to save her. After he jumped off his broom, he gently laid the girl that he had just saved onto the ground.

"Somebody, anybody – call for Madam Pomfrey!" he yelled. He didn't have to it seemed because she had been immediately contacted to tend to her new patient and was running across the pitch.

"Stupid girl – not paying attention like she should have. Anyone with _sense_ would have known not to be alone in the stands at a Quidditch match!" the medi-witch grumbled as she put the proper spells on unconscious Hermione so that she could be moved easily to the Hospital Wing. "They should ban Quidditch, they should! Rogue Bludgers flying everywhere! Injuring students! What a mess this game is!"

Malfoy watched the nurse in horror and kept silent so that he didn't slip and explain to the woman there weren't any rogue Bludgers and it was his fault. He had almost badly injured this girl and then he saved her from falling.

Near-death experiences didn't happen everyday and neither did being able to control someone's life. He couldn't leave her side the whole night. He was still worried that she might not heal as rapidly, as she was still unconscious, even after a few days. He knew that her friends didn't know that it was him that had caused the Bludger to hit her for everyone was too busy cheering on stupid Potter and his lot of teammates. It would be better for him if they were to _never_ found out.

However, he still felt guilty. He had caused this pain that Hermione was more than likely going through right now. He didn't want to be known as the boy who wanted to kill a Muggle-born, yet he didn't want to be considered as "going soft" in the head. If his father were to somehow find out about this, Malfoy Jr. would be in for a long talking. He could just hear his father yell at him about not drawing attention to himself as well as to why he didn't just let the Granger-brat fall.

* * *

Hermione woke up with a start. She didn't know where she was and she definitely didn't know why Draco Malfoy was sleeping in a chair next to her bed. She groaned as she attempted to sit up. She could hardly move her shoulder and even when she didn't try to move, it felt like it was on fire.

She rolled over and grabbed her wand off of the bedside table, grinding her teeth to keep from screaming. She transfigured a pillow off of the bed beside her into a stick and levitated it to where Malfoy was sitting. She started poking him with it on his arm. He didn't wake up or even look like he noticed that a stick was hovering in the air poking while he slept. Hermione chuckled when the tip of the stick broke off. The pale faced boy next to her then awoke at the sound of her laughter and blinked for a few seconds, trying to figure out himself why he was here in the Hospital Wing. Unfortunately, he remembered and before he could stop himself, he spoke out his "concerns."

"Oh thank goodness you're awake Granger! Everyone was worried and it was quite annoying having everyone fuss over you as if you were some sort of royalty, Potter and Weasel especially! Now that you're awake, get up so that you can prove you're not sick anymore."

Hermione just stared at him, inarticulate and mouth wide open.

"What happened? I remember the game, Harry winning, and then waking up here with my shoulder hurting really badly. You didn't have anything to do with that, do you?" she asked as she tried to gain more control of the situation. Here she was, injured in a Hospital Wing bed with the healthy and rather strong Malfoy next to her. And it didn't make her feel any better to know that when first seeing her awake, he demanded she get out of the safety of her bed.

"Well, you fell out of the stands and I caught you just in time before you fell onto the Quidditch pitch. Of _course_ you were going to get hurt! You gave everyone quite a scare, of course. I thought Weasley was going to piss himself when I caught you. Later, I recall him telling me that if I hurt you, that I was going to pay. It was kind of strange of him to say that because I don't give money to poor charities and seeing as you had just fallen over 50 feet to the ground, he didn't even check to see if you were alright," Draco answered. He just managed to _forget_ to mention the one little but significant detail that it was _he _who had caused her to fall.

She stared at him in shock. But her expression changed as she snickered at him and replied in a mocking tone, "You saved me? I never would have thought you would stoop to such a low, saving _me_, Harry Potter's best friend. But I guess there's a little ounce of kindness in everybody, even in the _Slytherins_."

"If I had thought that you would thank me like this, _with_ _insults_, I wouldn't have saved you!" Malfoy then stood up, ready to leave her alone in the Hospital Wing and retreat to the comfort of his own bed. "Insult me, will you Granger? Even after I _saved your life?_ Isn't that a bit _too_ noble for a Gryffindor?" he asked dramatically. Hermione's face turned guilty at hearing his exaggeration. She didn't like being cornered after attempting to defend herself.

"Wait! I didn't mean to insult you! You didn't tell me you saved my _life_! I didn't mean to sound so ungrateful." At his look of disapproval, she added somewhat hesitantly, "Thank you, Malfoy for saving my life and risking yours at the same time." Her eyes started to water and tears slowly slid down her face.

"What's wrong? Stop that crying, Granger. It is unnecessary and is insulting me. Honestly, I just saved your life. Get over it."

"It was really kind of you to do that for me," she continued, ignoring what he had just said and his glare. "I never thought that anyone would do such a thing as to risk their own life to save mine, let it alone have been _you_."

* * *

"Mr. Malfoy, I assure you that I and others as well are capable of taking Miss Granger's assignments to the Hospital Wing. I do not need you to take it to her for me. I appreciate your concern for her grades, but I can promise you that she doesn't need you to worry on her part," the slightly annoyed voice of Professor Minerva McGonagall said as she stood in the corridor next to the teachers' lounge. "If I were you, I would be more concerned about _your_ grades. Since that terrible accident involving Miss Granger, you haven't been attending classes. If I was Head of _your_ House, I would look even deeper into the matter…however I am not. I do, however, know that you have been in the Hospital Wing for at least three days. If I didn't know better, I would say that that was because of some guilt that you have about the whole situation or you're up to no good."

"Well, Professor, the fact is that I am feeling guilty, but it's not because of her accident," Malfoy explained. "I have been mean to her and her friends ever since that first night in our first year. All the Slytherins have as a matter of fact. I just hoped that since Hermione was already laid up in bed, I could take advantage of the situation and make friends with her and the rest of the Gryffindors."

Thankfully, Malfoy was used to thinking on his feet and usually lied upon instinct. However, his time he was telling the truth, even if he was exaggerating a _little_.

Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes and looked over her glasses at the blonde haired boy. She couldn't tell if he was lying or not but she did have a feeling he was up to no good. By looking at the dark circles under his eyes and his sickly pale skin, she could tell that at least he was thinking things over far too much, maybe even obsessing over whatever it was that had his attention. She finally gave into the pitiful look that the Head Boy was giving her and let him bring Hermione her books. The only thing that McGonagall asked in return was for him to return to his classes and make up for the lost time.

Malfoy practically skipped to the Gryffindor tower. As he approached the portrait of the Fat Lady (knowing from years spying on Potter that this indeed was the entrance to his common room), Neville Longbottom was attempting to get into the Gryffindor common room. He had a list of the passwords despite what had happened in their third year, or at least what Malfoy was told. Currently, he was saying every password on the list to try to get in yet nothing was working.

Finally the Fat Lady decided to spare the boy pity and gave Neville a hint. "It's Latin and it means '_open up, door_.'"

Not being very skilled in Latin, Neville merely sighed heavily.

"_Openus upus doorus_?" the Gryffindor boy tried, whining as he gave the Fat Lady a pleading look.

Finally, Draco stepped out fully into hallway and said, "_Aperio foris_."

Shocked,Neville turned around and looked as if he had been petrified. The Fat Lady looked stunned and then repulsed at seeing a Slytherin eavesdropping _and_ knowing the password as well. However, she opened up for Neville and intently glared at Malfoy as he followed the Gryffindor in.

"Come on, Longbottom. I'm not that bad. You just don't know me that well. Let's go in to see the Common Room and we can get Hermione's books for her." Leering, Malfoy placed his hand on Neville's back and pushed the shivering boy through the portrait hole and into the common room. Luckily, the only person in the common room at the moment was Lavender Brown, who was fast asleep on the couch.

"Alright then, Longbottom, now that we've been acquainted, show me to where the girls' dormitory is. Better yet, go in there and get me Hermione Granger's books," Malfoy demanded, hoping that Longbottom was stupid enough as Crabbe and Goyle to do what he said without a second thought.

"I-I can't. S-sorry, sir, I – err – mean, Malfoy," Neville stuttered.

"What! What do you mean you '_can't?_' I am not asking you, I'm _telling _you! What else do you expect me to do, get down on my knees and beg? I am not a servant, Longbottom!"

"Neither am I!" Neville replied, growing increasingly courageous as well as increasingly angry. Awaking from the noisy ruckus, Lavender Brown looked upon the boys.

"Malfoy!" Lavender shrieked. "What are you doing _here_? This isn't the bloody Slytherin common room!"

Draco glared furiously at her. "I very well know what the Slytherin common room looks like. This place is far too trashy; I would have known it wasn't the Slytherin common room right away. Do I honestly look blind to you?"

"This isn't your room to boss us around in!" Neville cried, but Malfoy hardly spared him a glance. As Lavender joined in the argument, Malfoy raised his wand. Fearful, the two Gryffindors went to back away when Malfoy cried, "_Accio Granger's books!_"

Instantly, dozens of all of the books Hermione owned floated to him.

"You can't –!" Lavender began, but Malfoy interrupted her, elaborating his mission, "I am getting the Granger-brat's books for her. Now if you two don't mind, the hero that I am needs to deliver them. It seems that since the Granger-brat injured herself, I apparently am supposed to serve and pity her."

Malfoy then left the common room, the books floating and following him behind.


	2. The Request

"I can't believe that git actually saved Hermione," said Fred Weasely.

"That means he touched her. Ha! I wish I had seen the look on his face when he realized that he was holding on to a Muggle-born," George replied, sending his brother into fits of laughter.

"The little ferret probably went crying to his Daddy saying that he is unclean now!"

"_Excuse _me." The drawling voice of Draco Malfoy quieted the Weasely's laughter in a heartbeat. "You seem to be speaking about me. I would like to assure you that I am, in fact, attempting to be sociable with the insufferable trash that Granger enjoys to associate herself with. You attempting to make fun of me isn't really helping me much. Be very glad that there isn't anyone else around, because believe me, if there were, you two would not get off as easy. Have a nice day gentlemen, and please refrain from calling me a ferret. It is unbecoming to the two of you."

Fred and George just gawked at Malfoy and the flying books behind him as he walked into the Hospital Wing for the second time that day.

"Hermione, you surely must realize that Malfoy is still a git. Just because he happened to save your life doesn't mean that you should continue to cry over him. He's a Slytherin, for Merlin's sake. Think of all the times he has made your life a living hell. Saving you somehow helped him out; otherwise he wouldn't have done it. You've got to realize that, Hermione. The sooner you do, the sooner you can help me with my Astronomy homework."

"Ron, I can't just stop thinking about the person that saved my life. Maybe he didn't have an ulterior motive for saving me. Maybe he just did it out of the goodness of his heart, however small of an amount that may be."

"Oh, please! If the git actually did have a heart, I don't think that there would be any goodness in there at all!"

"Thank you for your faith in me, Potter. It just makes me feel so much better that you think so kindly of me since I did save the resident know-it-all from a painful death that even the 'Great Harry Potter' should flinch at," Malfoy butted into the conversation. It seemed to him that everyone was talking bad about him these days. Little did he know that this was an everyday occurrence, he just happened to be walking in on them a lot more than usual.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy? Did you come to gloat on how we would be no where without your help? Did you come to see if you could get something out of saving Hermione? Well, you can just leave, because we don't have anything to say to you!" Ron turned around quickly to face the opposite direction. He tripped over his own two feet and almost fell flat on his face, but ended up catching himself just in time.

Malfoy held back a laugh. "No, Weasely, my intentions are not that ill. I just came to give Granger her books. McGonagall told me to get them for her. Besides, I only have a small request that shouldn't take too much effort on your part. It kills me to ask you this, because, well, as you said, I'm a Slytherin, and Slytherins don't ask for anything from a Gryffindor."

"Just hurry up and ask, Malfoy. The sooner you do, the sooner we can get out of here and forget this whole thing ever happened," Harry pressured.

"Fine, I'll ask. Don't get your knickers in a twist. The other Slytherins aren't taking to well to the idea that I saved a Mudblood. Sorry, Muggle-born. Because of this, everyone has turned against me. Even Crabbe and Goyle, who I thought had pudding for brains, have refused to speak to me. That's why I've been holed up in here for days.

"My father received word of what happened and has told me to not bother coming home during Christmas break and over the summer holidays. He says that I am a disgrace to the Malfoy name. He has disowned me for saving you, Granger. At this point, I have nothing. I have no friends, no family, and no inheritance. I'm on my own. All I ask of you is… well… to umm… be my friends? I mean, I don't want you to include me in everything that you do. I just want you to… well… you know… help me out with this little rough patch that I'm having."

Malfoy looked down at the ground. He was beating himself up for laying his heart out for the Gryffindors to see. He glanced up at their faces as he tried to gauge their reactions. Harry had a look on his face that said, 'Why does he want to be friends with us?' Ron's face said, 'What the hell?' He looked at Hermione. Her face said, 'I'm asleep,' and indeed she was.

After a minute's pause, Harry decided to address the asker. "Malfoy, you do realize that we are going to have to think about this. We can't just agree to something without talking it over. We will consider your request. We will give you an answer as soon as we talk to Hermione about it. She's the one that will have to most say on this. It's up to her really."


End file.
